Heroes never die
by TashaVakarian
Summary: Garrus has vanished. Tharrissa Shepard will search the entire galaxy to find him. But Garrus is in so much more danger than Shepard could possibly have anticipated, and to save him, she needs to hurry. Reviews and feeback are welcome ;
1. Always searching

_**All feedback is greatly appreciated. Reviews are welcome. Recommendations are… well, recommended. Swooning is optional. But be warned, I have great, cunning evil plans for this fanfiction…**_

_**If you prefer to contact me via BSN, then there are some who call me Tasha Vas Nar Rayya.**_

'_**Heroes never die' is named after a beautiful song by an underground band called 'Mostly Autumn.' I recommend listening to them. Enjoy ;)**_

_After destroying the collector base and miraculously escaping a suicide mission, the remaining crew stood in the engineering deck, gazing sorrowfully at the steel containers that held the bodies of those that gave their lives for the galaxy. Their names were etched onto the front of each coffin: Miranda, Grunt, Jacob and Samara. Tharrissa Shepard took each death as a fault on her part. She felt that she had failed them, so when she stroked her hand mournfully against each coffin, she reminded herself that she would make herself worthy of their sacrifices. Tears suddenly threatened to destroy her deadly calm composure. 'No,' she amended, 'I vow to myself that I will not rest until I am worthy of their deaths.' The risk of tears receded, and she turned to face the remaining crew. After all, their mission was a success._

"_We have done the impossible, something that could never have been accomplished without all of you, and these." Tharrissa motioned to the cold coffins, "who gave their lives to save the galaxy. We must go to the council immediately to present this evidence of the reaper threat. It is so much more than just Sovereign, but I promise you all, that once we have taken out these reapers, we will all have the most alcohol fuelled shore leave of our lives." She smiled, as did Garrus. The commander still tried to lighten the air in the most difficult of circumstances. Something which he did himself._

"_Anything but Flux. Chora's den perhaps? I imagine it's a better place without assassins and mercs trying to slaughter us." He replied._

"_I dunno, it was pretty fun. I found it amusing that assassins would be so noisy when conducting an ambush co-ordinated by the shadow broker's agents." Tharrissa walked over to where the crew stood._

"_Assassin is not a worthy term. An assassin would not attempt to kill Tharrissa." Shepard laughed at Thane's remark, he was normally quite reclusive among the crew. _

"_I agree with that." She replied before Joker's voice reported on the intercom._

"_We will arrive at the citadel in eight hours. You all have fun now, because EDI will probably block my favourite websites if I go over the drinking limit."_

_The crew dispersed, and Tharrissa retired to her quarters on the top floor. Alone once again, she could not stop the biotic energy that swelled around her in a blue haze. The power built up, fuelled by grief and anger, a culmination of pressure, strain and loneliness. The turmoil of emotions finally elapsed with her driving her fist right through the reinforced walls of her room. Where no one could hear her, she roared and howled, feeling all her hope dissipate. How could she stop an army of reapers and break a cycle that has been in place for millions of years? Maybe Saren was right, that the only way to survive the reaper attack would be to join them…_

_She shook her head in denial, that was an option she ruled out on Virmire, and she would not go back on that decision. The reapers would never negotiate in such a way, and Saren was naïve to think so. The hero of the citadel buried her head in her hands, as her hope dwindled._

_At last, she decided to go to the only person she truly trusted. The only person who she could voice her honest opinions to, and not receive judgment. Following a path she had taken many times, her numb body took her to the main batteries._

_Garrus' proud smile greeted her as soon as the doors opened. Relief immediately took the weight off her shoulders._

"_We kicked ass Shepard! The council can't reject this evidence, this time, we will be prepared." His confidence in her abilities was encouraging, and yet, she felt undeserving of such unwavering loyalty. At her silence, he continued. "But, you wanted to talk about something else, didn't you?"_

"_Yeah. I did. Garrus, I am supposed to be the one raising morale, and yet you always seem to be the one dishing out all the optimism. How do you do it?"_

"_Shepard, with you, I have wiped out hordes of Geth, destroyed a reaper, saved the citadel, defeated the collectors and slayed a human reaper. By now, I think we have become professionals at doing the impossible. So yeah, I think I have a reason to be a little optimistic now?"_

"_I won't lie to you Garrus. It hasn't convinced me. This is something on another scale."_

"_Is it? We have killed two reapers, and Sovereign claimed they were immortal. I think we can manage whatever they throw at us." He paused, deducing from Tharrissa's dim eyes that she wasn't convinced. "Look Shepard, you have a squad who have followed you to hell and back, some of us twice, you don't need to worry about us."_

"_And yet, some of them died anyway."_

"_Not because of you, because of the collectors. All we can do is honour their memories, and avenge their deaths."_

_Tharrissa heaved a weary sigh. "You're right. Anyway, I am sure that you will want to have some celebration with the rest of the crew in the bar." Tharrissa suggested abruptly, she didn't want her most trusted friend losing faith in her wavering confidence. She rarely spoke about any of her emotions since Akuze. But the turian before her looked at her straight in the eyes as he spoke the one line that Tharrissa would forever remember._

"_I will only do whatever you want." The sincerity of his promise shocked Tharrissa and hit her to her very core. Before she knew it, she found herself walking towards Garrus and putting her arms around him and leaning against his armoured chest. She felt his arms enclose around her too, mirroring the action. _

"_Thank you. I just want the galaxy to be safe from complete extinction." She managed to whisper, before abruptly leaving the main battery, leaving Garrus speechless behind her._

Shepard thought back to this memory with bitterness. All she wanted now was for him to be back with her, on the Normandy. She yearned for his presence in her dreams, and in every waking moment. But he had disappeared. The news reporters claimed he had died. Any machine that announced that Garrus was most likely dead in the vicinity of Tharrissa had the misfortune of being smashed into oblivion. She would never tell anyone, but after his disappearance, Shepard realized that she had a much closer bond with the turian than she thought. And it took his agonizing absence for her to realize this.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Captain's cabin on the Normandy, her gaze drifted towards the gaping, hollow dent in the wall. The same dent that she made when anger overwhelmed her, just after the collector attack. One year ago. And eleven months ago, Garrus had vanished from the Normandy. They were docked on Illium and Shepard searched the entire planet for any indication of his presence. There was none.

She had furiously tried to contact him on his omni-tool with no success. She had asked Kasumi and Legion to try and hack it, but even their combined efforts proved fruitless. Legion had concluded that his omni-tool was absent, as it emitted no signal whatsoever. Tharrissa suspected that Kasumi kept her conclusions to herself after Tharrissa almost charged at Legion for his statement.

Tharrissa contacted every person who knew Garrus in desperation. She still remembered vividly when panic took over and she contacted Liara. The asari informed Shepard that despite her innumerable resources, she still couldn't locate Garrus. Tharrissa had yelled at Liara until her voice became raspy and her lungs seared with pain, demanding that she must know where he is, yelling that she would be the only person in the world who could find him. Liara had just shook her head, replying that even a shadow broker can't find every single shadow in every darkened corner.

Liara's implied meaning wasn't lost on Tharrissa. Everyone else had lost hope, but she knew that Garrus wasn't dead. Her biotically fuelled anger had overwhelmed her senses again, and Liara barely had time to put up a barrier to prevent her from being ripped apart from Shepard's reave. Liara didn't retaliate though, Tharrissa calmed down, and the blue mist around her gradually dissipated. "I'm so sorry." She had said. No anger broke through Liara's cool exterior, just sorrow.

"Shepard, I will devote my best agents to finding him. But don't let his absence turn you into something you aren't. He wouldn't like that if he was here." Shepard was reminded of Garrus' comment, that her crew had followed her into hell and back, and even when she nearly killed Liara, she still helped her.

The blare of the intercom interrupted her reminiscing.

"Commander, we have an incoming transmission from the illusive man." Joker reported.

"What? I thought we lost that channel?"

"I know commander, but he says he has a lead. On Garrus." A feeling of elation consumed Tharrissa at the mention of his name in a positive context for once.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Joker set up the connection immediately and Tharrissa found herself hologrammed in front of the leader of Cerberus. A cigarette rested in his hand, as ever, and he was seated in a chair directly in front of an image of a burning sun.

"Where is he?" Tharrissa demanded.

"Shepard, you cost me. You destroyed resources that would have been invaluable to humanity's cause. It has become evident that you care more about the welfare of other species than your own."

"Alien races have as much right for dominance as humanity. Except the galaxy shouldn't be dominated by one race, it should be united by all species."

"Your idealism will be your undoing Shepard. But that is not why I have contacted you." He inhaled deeply from his cigarette before continuing, infuriating Tharrissa with his delay.

"You search for a former crewmate. Garrus Vakarian."

"I know." She responded bitterly.

"I have information as to his whereabouts. However, by destroying the collector base, I don't really have much incentive to impart any information to you."

"What do you want?" Tharrissa practically growled.

"You are the only human spectre, able to operate outside of laws. The only advocate we have to further our cause, without legal problems." The Illusive Man calmly took a sip from a glass of water that rested on his armchair while Tharrissa brewed in impatience. "I have a proposal for you Shepard. You can redeem yourself in Cerberus' eyes, and gain information as to Garrus Vakarian's whereabouts, if you follow my orders."

"You're blackmailing me." Tharrissa spat venomously.

"Perhaps, but I believe finding this turian means more to you."

"Don't pretend you know me."

"Then don't pretend to know my motives. I am the only person in the galaxy who can give you any information as to the location of the one you have sought for the past two months. Here is my proposal: We have recently uncovered a Prothean city embedded within the Citadel. A place that the keepers have stopped anyone from discovering. Until now. No one else but you and I know of this. You may face opposition from the keepers. But you must follow my forwarded directions to enter this city, and obtain the technology that lies there, untainted. Bring that technology back here without anyone else discovering the city. This must be something that only humanity can benefit from, and if it is solely humanity that benefits from the masses of Prothean technology that lies in wait, then we will have a chance against the reapers. Human dominance will be secured, and you will find Garrus. Everyone gets what they want."

Tharrissa didn't trust the Illusive man, and never had. But he had a point, this discovery could give them a better chance against the reapers, after all, the Protheans had fought, and as Vigil had told them, the reapers hadn't made the Protheans extinct. Many had lasted in stasis for millennia after the reaper attack. She disapproved of the nationalist uses The Illusive Man would have for the technology, she had always considered alien species to be just as important as humans. Another reason she opposed Cerberus. Automatically, she thought of what Garrus would do, and a pang of longing caught her off guard. That hollowness in the pit of her stomach when she thought of him made the answer for her.

"I'll do it. Not for the sake of humanity, but for the sake of the galaxy. And for Garrus."

"I knew you would. I would have sent Cerberus scientists to investigate, but that would have attracted attention, and then all races would be salvaging from the Prothean ruins. Also, I doubt they would survive against the inevitable opposition they would have faced. Only you can do this, Shepard. Make humanity proud."

The transmission ended. Tharrissa stood alone in the briefing room. "I'll make Garrus proud." She whispered to herself.


	2. One half

After she told Joker to head for the Citadel, she returned to her quarters to prepare for the mission. She looked at the information the Illusive Man had given her, gone over the schematics and checked the route into the Prothean city. She tried to concentrate, but her mind drifted into those revered memories when Garrus was still aboard the Normandy.

_After returning from their meeting with the council, the crew celebrated once more. After so long, the council had finally agreed to support Tharrissa and provide defence against the reaper threat. They had immediately stationed most of the turian fleet near the omega 4 relay and had sensors all around it. The salvaged collector technology and sampled collector tissue, combined with a datapad containing a reliable recording of advancing reapers and the human reaper they had destroyed, forced the council to open their eyes. But it had taken so many years, and so much effort._

_In the Normandy bar, they all drank and were merry. Another success with the fabled Commander Shepard. Things began to look better for the galaxy for Tharrissa. She drank little; she always hated the concept of not being in complete control of herself. Garrus and Tali also drank nothing, as no dextro-amino based drinks were available, although both were too polite to mention it. After watching Legion to 'the robot' and being shocked when Thane fell into some rather graphic solipsism, Tharrissa and Garrus found themselves alone in the bar. _

"_I told you." He said simply, with what could only be classed as a smirk._

"_From previous experience, I'm sure you can understand why I thought the council would reject us again."_

"_Oh I know, I was the one proving Saren's betrayal remember? But this time, I just had a feeling that they would help our cause." Tharrissa looked at Garrus with mock suspicion._

"_You slept with the asari councilor didn't you?" She asked, with an eyebrow raised, highlighting the scar that ran across her right eye. The turian laughed._

"_Works every time. All it takes is one stylish and incredibly handsome turian to make an asari councilor realize that the galaxy is at stake from an imminent attack of immortal machines." They both laughed, knowing that neither of them had ever had a real relationship that was even close to serious. Both individuals could shoot down hordes of enemies in the most life threatening of situations. But when it came down to a long term relationship, the concept was too intimidating for them to consider._

"_Well, it's a good thing I know that the galaxy is at stake from an imminent attack of immortal machines." Tharrissa joked._

"_I could persuade you otherwise." Garrus said in a low voice. Tharrissa suddenly adopted a more serious expression and looked into Garrus' eyes, deducing his thoughts. His voice had replied jokingly, but his eyes said something very different._

"_You're being serious." She said simply._

"_What? I'm sorry Shepard; I know that nothing like that will ever work."_

"_Why not?"_

"_I would think it's obvious. You are a human, I'm a turian. It wouldn't be wise to get tangled up in something like that."_

"_There are many different species who have successful relationships with other species."_

"_Come on, you have received a lot of attention from people closer to home, why me?"_

"_Because hell Garrus, you are the only person I trust enough." That made him pause and consider. _

"_I think I had best sleep on this."_

"_May I join you? Or is it too soon?" Shepard replied with a half smile on her pale face._

"_And I never had any idea you was such a reckless flirt." He responded thoughtfully, watching her with his head tilted to one side._

_After that conversation, they had retreated back to their respective rooms to separately think about the same thing. But Tharrissa knew that Garrus hadn't vanished due to the prospect of having a relationship with her. In fact, she had rather it had been that simple, but he had just vanished two days later. No explanation, no trace of anyone else capturing him. He had disappeared, and Tharrissa devoted her life to searching endlessly for him right across the galaxy._

And now it was tormenting her, ever since Tharrissa realized that she held strong feelings for Garrus. She equipped her armour, black and dark purple, and put her visor on – another reminder of the one she searched so desperately for. It sat upon a mass of short messy black hair, and upon the inside of the visor, Tharrissa had etched Garrus' name. No one else but her would ever know of this, but it granted her a small happiness to be reminded of the one she fought for.

EDI announced that they had arrived at the citadel. Shepard picked Thane and Tali to accompany her. As a vanguard, she had an arsenal of devastating biotic powers at her disposal. Thane had proven adept at long ranged combat and warping the barriers of his enemies. Tali eased off pressure in more close combat situations by depositing combat drones and AI hacking any synthetic enemy. Shepard preferred shooting from mid to long range with a vindicator assault rifle. As did Garrus.

They parked the Normandy in the docking bay and proceeded to follow the directions The Illusive Man had given them. It led them to the base of the citadel, a taxi took them most of the way, and the driver seemed surprised about the direction Tharrissa wanted to go.

"It's a rough part of town. All the homeless live there and criminals run amok. It is rare for the law to catch up with them when this place is that far away from C-sec headquarters." The driver told them. "Watch your step."

He finally dropped them off just next to a narrow alley covered in debris and piles of filth. The driver hastily departed and Tharrissa studied her surroundings. Those who resided here were all in varying degrees of illness, not due to any plague, but because of the lack of hygiene and proper living standards.

"The council sure work hard to cover all this up." Tali said, waving her hand at the unfortunate inhabitants of this part of the Citadel. They were members of all species squatting on the floor, slumped in exhaustion. Tharrissa felt a pang of sorrow as she remembered a similar upbringing on Earth, constantly working on survival, escaping from gangs, not knowing who to trust and having to steal food just to stay alive.

"Let's head for this city." She said, wiping the painful memory away. The poverty stricken scene that accompanied them on the way to the assigned co-ords haunted them all. But finally, they reached a steel wall where a concealed passage was supposed to lie. There were no lines or cracks to indicate where this passage was. Tali's omni-tool flared up and she began typing into it.

"According to this, there is a hollow section just here." She informed. "It's only a small circle though, but we should all fit in."

"Did the Illusive Man specify **how** we get into this passage?" Thane asked.

"Yeah, apparently he already set up restrictive measures just in case anyone else discovered this. But the keepers stop anyone from finding this passage. All we need to do, is this." Tharrissa checked that the area was isolated, and then placed her ungloved hand onto the wall. A door swung open.

"Thane, you first then Tali. We have to move fast, Cerberus can only distract the keepers for so long. And we sure are vulnerable here." They all scrambled in, managing to fit. Tharrissa was grateful that the squad she picked could fit. A Krogan or turian wouldn't have a chance. She felt another pang of longing for Garrus. It had been so long, and she was so uncertain on where he was, how he was and what he is doing.

After so much tension in such an exposed and confined space, they finally met the end of the tunnel. Tharrissa was reminded strongly of Ilos at her surroundings. Here was an ancient beauty that lay within the heart of the Citadel, and had remained hidden for so long. An almost ethereal glow shone on the overgrown plants that adorned the statues and buildings. Yet looking up, the city was covered in a metal dome, no sunlight could possibly affect this city.

But they didn't have much time to appreciate the beauty of the place before bullets began firing and they had to dive for cover. It wasn't keepers that attacked them, but geth. The keepers weren't built for combat, but it made sense that they would use the non-sentient geth to attack any invaders. Well, most geth were non-sentient, Legion was a whole different story.

Shepard shouted orders to Thane and Tali, while firing through the shields of the geth. In situations like this, she wished she had Garrus back; he could simply overload the shields so Tharrissa could unleash her biotics upon their enemies. Tali already had her combat drone up and running and Thane loaded his sniper with warp ammo. Bullets sprayed around them, a geth drew in close to Thane. He quickly grabbed the geth's head and deftly twisted it right off. It was rare for Tharrissa to see Thane in melee combat, but when he did, the enemy was already dead.

Tali hacked one geth and had it firing its grenade launcher at its allies. Explosions suddenly engulfed their sight, and then there was silence. And a lot of robotic corpses lying on the ground when the dust settled. Tali regarded the mess and the explosions caused by the battle.

"Liara would not be particularly happy." She remarked.

"She probably would have voted against hacking the geth with a grenade launcher." Tharrissa agreed, "but she would just love to see this." She waved to the Prothean monuments and creations that surrounded her.

"I have never seen Prothean artifacts before." Thane mused. "Is this how Protheans looked before their extinction?" He asked, gesturing to a statue of a robed alien with a tentacled face and wise, sad eyes.

"Probably. We saw similar ones on Ilos too. Tali came with me on that trip."

"I did. And your driving is outrageous. I'm just grateful that we don't use that vehicle anymore." She said, remembering Shepard manically driving the mako through hordes of geth and colossus in order to reach the portal in time. "I felt sorry for Garrus always having to repair-" She suddenly cut off, realizing who she was talking about. The quarian looked over fearfully at Shepard to see her wince.

"Let's move." She commanded stiffly. After nearly killing Liara, she forced herself to have a stronger hold on her temper.

They moved through the ruins, absorbing all the fascinating artwork and carvings of a lost culture. The place was almost too quiet, unlike when Shepard had taken Garrus and Tali with her to Ilos.

"_Shepard, you do realize that this planet is in a fragile state, firing rocket launchers and recklessly crashing the mako into just about anything perhaps isn't the best way to preserve the history of an extinct race." Garrus said to her jokingly._

"_And that's what makes it so exciting!" Tharrissa had replied, while Garrus gunned down a colossus. _

"_My thoughts exactly." _

"Shepard, over here." Thane's deep voice brought Tharrissa back to the present. The assassin brushed some overgrown flora off part of a massive machine. "It must be a weapon. Perhaps the Protheans had started building it to retaliate against the reapers. They must have been too late."

"How far along were they with its construction?"

"Almost finished. It is loaded with some indiscernible substance. And the firing mechanism is here." He pointed to a cylindrical tube that Thane explained would likely be pressed all the way down in order to fire the weapon. "This is only one half of it though, the other part of it must be nearby."

"Let's look for it then."

"We will have to find an alternative route out however, if we take this with us."

"I'll see if the Illusive Man knows of a way out." Tharrissa fired her omni-tool up and instantly, the Cerberus leader's voice projected from it, radiating with anger.

"The other part of this weapon Shepard, it's gone."

"Are you certain? I thought no one else knew of the presence of this city?"

"So did I. Not even a shadow could have surpassed all the security precautions I took."

"Perhaps they took the other half of the weapon before you discovered this city? Or it could have been the Protheans themselves."

"No. When I discovered this city there were two energy signatures that denoted some sort of Prothean technology. Now, there is just one."

"We will find the other half later. But for now, we need to get this part of the weapon onto the Normandy. Any ideas how?"

"There is a dormant docking hull West of your current position. Tell Joker to meet you there, and activate the Normandy's stealth systems."

"A docking hull? How was this not discovered before?"

"It appears that the Protheans had their own stealth systems, Joker won't be able to see the ruins or the docking hull, so he will just have to meet you at these co-ordinates and wait for you to appear. Move quickly Shepard. The keepers are alerted to your present and will probably send more firepower shortly."

"Thane and Tali, help me lift this thing out of here. And be careful, we don't know what is in that weapon." Between them, the three managed to hoist the instrument off the ground, and carried it back to the specified location the Illusive Man had given them. Shepard radioed Joker, informing him to keep the starboard cargo open for the Prothean technology to be stored in. Shepard's muscles began to strain, but she refused to show any sign of weakness in front of her crew.

Finally, they reached a door that connected to the docking hull. Checking that all breather masks were equipped, they walked over to the massive door covered in ascending vines, which immediately opened for them. The artificial light that brightened the Citadel made them wince as they had gotten used to the soft glow of the hidden city. The Normandy was stationed just at the end of the runway. The door shut behind them as they heaved the weapon part towards the cargo deck.

Once they were just a few feet away from the Normandy , the doors leading back to the city opened.

"That can't be good…" Tali muttered. The shapes of the all too familiar geth covered the doorway with guns hoisted.

"Get this onto the Normandy! Our shields should last us." With renewed determination, they edged to the open airlock. Mordin, Legion, Jack and Kasumi had their helmets on and were already there, helping them lift the weapon into cargo as the onslaught of bullets threatened to collapse their shields. Just before the geth's attack threatened to break through their armour, they leaped onto the Normandy and the airlock shut before the ship propelled itself into space.


	3. The memories remain

"This will need to be stored safely until we find its counterpart. I'll need to speak to the Illusive Man." Shepard instructed.

"A meeting with Cerberus?" Jack questioned with hatred emphasized on the last word. "What are you playing at Shepard? I thought you ditched them?"

"I did. But situations changed, I don't like it and I don't trust them. But they have me blackmailed."

"Yeah I get it. The Illusive Man knows where Garrus is, it's not blackmail, he's just preying on your care for that turian." For such a hostile criminal, Jack could be extraordinarily perceptive. Shepard forced herself to quench the biotic power that began gathering in her fist. Jack's brown eyes stared her down, daring her to try it. Kasumi's voice broke through the tense silence.

"Well we have one half of the weapon now. We could give the Illusive Man a taste of his own medicine. Make him beg for it, and tell us where Garrus is in the process." The thief suggested. Tharrissa liked her idea, but the Cerberus leader wasn't the type to be able to be blackmailed. And there was the risk he would refuse to give Garrus' location.

"As long as he tells me where Garrus is." Shepard said. She turned to go to the debriefing room; scars from the collector battle still marred the walls. Tharrissa stepped into the circle and once more, she was hologrammed in front of the Illusive Man. She had never seen his usually stoic composure so filled with anger.

"Well done on obtaining one half of the weapon Shepard. I will be searching for leads on where the other part is. Mordin can begin studying the technology immediately."

"I trust that you will keep your end of the bargain." Shepard reminded, her voice containing a slightly threatening edge.

"I need both parts of the weapon for humanity to have a chance against the reapers. Once we have obtained it, then I will uphold my end of the bargain." Tharrissa glowed with biotic energy, her anger swelling.

"You asked me to look for Prothean technology. And I found some! So you will tell me where Garrus is or I will send that chunk of metal flying into space!" She yelled. The Illusive Man considered her calmly for a moment before replying.

"He is heading for the Omega 4 relay."

"He's what!"

"He assembled a small team to go into reaper territory. My sources indicate that he aims to prevent them from invading the galaxy. Garrus is much like you, too idealistic for his own good."

As the transmission ended, an onslaught of emotions hit Shepard suddenly, causing her to stagger towards the empty main battery where she slumped against the console, shaking with fury and tears streaming down her scarred cheeks.

"Why did you never tell me Garrus." She whispered. Her mind took her back to the night before he left, in this very room.

"_Garrus, I want to talk to you about that conversation last night." Tharrissa said. Garrus turned around slowly, and then he sat down on the floor. Tharrissa joined him._

"_Shepard, I will stick true to what I said. I'll do whatever you want me to do."_

"_Is it something you want though? You're not some recruit reporting to a senior officer. What do __**you**__ want Garrus?" The turian bowed his head._

"_Shepard, I have always respected you. What I want is to make you happy. And if I manage that by helping you save the galaxy, then yeah, that is exactly what I want."_

"_Are you sure about this? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Garrus looked up at Tharrissa's words._

"_You don't have to worry about making me feel uncomfortable. Nervous, perhaps. But never uncomfortable." Tharrissa edged forward to place her hand on the scarred side of Garrus' face, smoothing her thumb over the broken surface. Garrus reached out to wrap an arm around her waist._

"_Just to clarify, Tharrissa, cross species intercourse is never something I've done before. Asari councilors aside of course." He told her. Tharrissa laughed softly. _

"_Glad to know I'm not the only one." She replied._

"_Really? Didn't think you were the type, I'm beginning to see how the asari councilor got her job." Tharrissa laughed again before kissing Garrus' neck. He pulled her onto his lap and nuzzled her neck in return._

_They spent all night together in the main battery. The Normandy crew wondered why the Crew's quarters deck was off limits due to repairs, when they were sure that the repairs from the collector battle were all complete. Kasumi smiled to herself at her little ploy to give Tharrissa and Garrus some privacy. It was always obvious to her that they were a couple that needed each other. And after losing her lover, she conspired to help her commander find peace in the arms of the same turian who had always stood by her side._

_Afterward, in the main battery, Garrus and Tharrissa lay side by side on the floor. Since Akuze, Tharrissa had gone without any lovers until now. She had deemed any sort of emotional attachment as a weakness. But she now knew that with the right person, you can bring out strength in each other. She turned slightly to see that Garrus had awoken. _

"_Never thought I would wake up to a naked human." He mused. "Even if a lot of alcohol was involved."_

"_Ouch. And here I thought you were a smooth talker." Tharrissa defended._

"_I uh, didn't mean it that way. But you are…" He hesitated, searching for the right word._

"_Impressive?" _

"_Yeah, definitely impressive. Who would have guessed that Mordin knew so much about cross species intercourse?"_

"_He talked to you too?"_

"_Yeah, that was perhaps the most awkward conversation I've ever had."_

"_He sure knows his stuff." Tharrissa said suspiciously._

_Garrus stared at the ceiling for a while, mustering up the courage to say something. Tharrissa waited patiently._

"_I hate to bring it up Tharrissa, but where does this leave us now?"_

"_Together." She said simply._

"_I'm glad to hear that. And I'm always here if you need me."_

"_You always have been Garrus. You are the one who always has my back. Even when I'm not so sure if we will destroy the reapers." Tharrissa regretted the words as soon as she said them, unable to stop the sliver of fear that ran down her spine. She didn't want anyone to see her uncertainty about success, least of all Garrus._

"_This time, we have the advantage that the Protheans didn't have. We are ready for them."_

"_Will it really be enough? All this pressure to stop a genocide that has been in a cycle since I don't know when. How can we defeat an army of immortal machines?"_

"_They still die if you shoot at them… a lot. But Tharrissa, I'll do whatever I can to help you. And I just want to say, thank you. For everything you've done for me. Saleon, Sidonis and helping me with myself. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to do some good in the galaxy."_

"_And thanks to you too Garrus."_

The memory left Tharrissa feeling numb, alone on the floor of the main battery. But he was in danger. He always had her back when she was in danger, and she was going to do everything possible to save him now.

"Joker, head towards the Omega 4 relay."

"What? You mean Omega? Right?"

"No. Omega 4 relay. As quickly as this ship can possibly go."

"It's your ship, but we know what it's like in there. You may want to check if the crew fancy risking a second suicide mission, you know, in case they die or something." Joker didn't strike anyone as the most insightful individual, but this time, his advice rang with wisdom.

Shepard took the elevator to the crew quarters deck; she hoped that her team would forgive her for her selfishness. But she had to find Garrus, and she would do whatever it takes to save him. Maybe some will still follow her through the Omega 4 relay again. But she didn't keep her hopes up.


	4. To hell and back

Stepping out of the elevator, she stepped into port observation to see Kasumi standing in front of the glass window that gazed out onto the great black void of space. The thief did not turn at the sound of Shepard approaching.

"You know Commander, I would do the same thing in your situation. I was too late to save Keije, but you have a chance to save Garrus." Usually if someone said his name, Tharrissa would fume in anger, but Kasumi's serious tone made her pause. "Take it. Like I said before, a lot of people on the Normandy wanted to see you two together, and besides." Kasumi turned to face Shepard, fixing her with an intense gaze beneath her hood. "You have changed a lot since he disappeared."

"In what way?" Tharrissa asked.

"Anger mostly. And understandably so. But also sadness, like a part of you is missing. I am very familiar with that feeling. When you fought with Garrus by your side, there would be a gleam in both of your eyes, and your opponents never stood a chance. Now, your eyes have dimmed, and the fire is dwindling. So I will follow you through the relay to see that fire back in your eyes, and your heart." Tharrissa was lost for words, she always knew how remarkably perceptive Kasumi was, but she was also glad of her loyalty, and her unconditional acceptance of what Shepard had become.

"Thanks Kasumi. This means a lot to me."

"No problem. Besides, I miss the days when I restricted deck three due to 'repairs.'" She smirked.

"I knew you would be behind that one."

"Well, you needed the privacy…" With a smile on her face, Shepard left the room, grateful that one of her closest friends would stick by her, no matter how obsessive Tharrissa became with finding Garrus again.

She proceeded to life support hesitantly. Thane had expressed his interest in her before, and he was a difficult man to read. She couldn't anticipate his reaction.

"I hear we are going towards the Omega 4 relay." His dry voice stated.

"The Illusive Man says that that is where Garrus is."

"Your dedication to him is commendable. As is his dedication to you."

"What do you mean?" Thane mentioned for Tharrissa to sit at the table opposite him, she did so, waiting for his reply.

"His unconditional loyalty to you has always been apparent. But currently, if the Illusive Man's intel is to be believed, then he is risking his life for you. The immense faith he has in you was never anything I could compete with."

"We have been through a lot together. But I still don't understand why he wouldn't tell me? Why he wouldn't attack the reapers with me, and why he has disappeared off the grid without a trace."

"Because he knew that were you to know what he intended, then you would stop him. He wants to do this for you, not for himself. Garrus wanted to ease the pressure off you so that the galaxy stood a chance against the reapers."

"I never thought about this. Thanks Thane."

"You are welcome. And I will follow wherever you direct me." Tharrissa was elated by his response. She suspected that jealousy may have shrouded his views, but the assassin did not let his emotions interfere with the situation.

Her steps seemed lighter as she smiled at Dr. Chakwas while heading for EDI's core to talk to Legion. Even though geth are generally considered as mechanical and thus, incapable of emotions, Tharrissa had still (unconsciously) treated the geth as any other crew member.

"Shepard-Commander wishes to discuss the suicide mission?"

"Yeah. Legion, if you don't want to come along then I understand."

"Shepard-Commander has rewritten the heretics. We have been given another chance. We wish to stop the old machines. This platform was created for this mission. We will join Shepard-Commander through the Omega 4 relay."

"Thanks Legion for your support."

Shepard had never expected that the confrontations with her crew would be so positive. She had simply never comprehended that their loyalty would be so strong that they would follow on a potentially suicide mission to search for one of their crewmates.

Jack confronted Tharrissa as soon as the elevator opened on the deck two. The convict must have delved out of engineering to look for her.

"What the hell is up with you Shepard? Are you just screwing about? You destroy a collector base for Cerberus, but now you want to hand over a Prothean weapon of mass destruction to them? I thought you had more balls than that."

"Jack, I have what I want from the Illusive Man. If he has put me on a false lead, then he won't get anything. And, if the other half of the weapon does get found, then we will make sure that he never gets the whole thing."

"You better be right about that. That turian sure makes you go off on some crazy decisions. I bet if Garrus wasn't involved, you would tell the Illusive man to get screwed again."

"That was one of my proudest moments." Tharrissa recalled yelling at the Cerberus leader with fondness.

"You know Shepard, one day, I may just start to like you." Jack turned on her heel and left for the lower deck. That was high praise for the convict, and Tharrissa didn't miss how much it meant.

As she entered the lab, a multitude of various unidentified aromas hit her nostrils. Mordin was closely examining the Prothean weapon, furiously taking notes on his omni-tool.

"Mordin, do you ha-"

"Can't talk now Shepard. Must focus on this. Look for way to use it against reapers." He moved around the object as he spoke, focusing his attention on his latest scientific conquest rather than Shepard.

"You realize that we may be heading through the Omega 4 relay?"

"That's why I must discover how to use this. Suicide mission; done before. Doesn't bother me. Reapers inflicting genocide upon the galaxy?" Mordin sniffed deeply with disapproval. "Cannot allow that to happen."

"I will let you work then. Thanks Mordin."

Shepard suspected that Tali would be the least of her problems. The quarian had stood by her since her investigation into Saren, and since then, had been one of her closest friends. And Tharrissa's friends could be counted on one hand.

"Tali, could I have a word?"

"Sure Shepard. Is this about… is it about Garrus?" Tharrissa sighed with longing.

"Yeah, it is. Why did he just leave? Why didn't he tell me anything at all and leave me like this?"

"Because if he makes a dent in the reapers' defence, then it makes the way smoother and easier for you. You already died once Shepard, he was…" Tali bowed her head and hesitated.

"He was more distraught than any of us. The rest of us moved on with our careers and obligations because we didn't know what else to do. But Garrus, I heard news vids about archangel constantly. He had this determination about him as he avenged you by killing countless criminals on Omega. He had prospects, he could have rejoined C-sec or even applied to be a Spectre. But he couldn't. He wanted to do something that brought him closer to you, so he built a squad, fought and survived. Like you. He idolizes you Shepard, and he still does. He knows that would follow him if you knew, but he also knows that it is for the best, both for you, and for the galaxy."

"But wouldn't it have been easier to defeat the reapers together? Without all this?"

"No. He can do a lot of damage to the reapers right where they are located. But if you want to go after him, then I know that nothing in this galaxy will be able to stop you."

"You're right about that. Thanks Tali, I feel a little better. But I can't pause until I know that Garrus is safe."

"Neither will we. We have your back Shepard." With a grateful smile, Tharrissa checked EDI who revealed that there was still half an hour before they were within sights of the Omega 4 relay. The commander returned to her quarters for contemplation. All her crew had agreed to see this through. But this time, she swore fervently to herself that no one will lose their life. It had been so difficult in the collector attack. She still felt the pang of loss when she saw their lifeless corpses upon the ground, overwhelmed by terrifying odds, yet still fighting to the end. She had felt that she had failed them as their commander, although Garrus comforted her that there were some things that were just outside her control.

As she slowly and methodically put on her armour, she relaxed into her battle mode. Feeling the familiar grasp of her vindicator assault rifle and allowing her biotics to flow easily through her implants and veins soothed her. She had accepted that the reapers could not be destroyed, but there were other ways to stop them from invading the galaxy. And, finally, she had found solace in the knowledge that there was a way to stop the reapers.

Her eyes dark and intense, Tharrissa strode to the cockpit to see Joker swiftly sifting through various screens of information.

"Commander, the energy signs from the relay shows that a ship passed through there recently. And it wasn't a collector ship. It's gotta be Garrus. I can almost smell the fumes of vengeance he leaves behind." Joker said. Tharrissa raised an eyebrow, knowing that his light hearted comments was how he eased off tension just before some very risky maneuvers.

"And no, it isn't the Tupari that I spilt all over the cockpit floor when EDI decided to spin my 'leather' chair around." Tharrissa looked at EDI questioningly.

"Data collected reveals that Jeff performs more efficiently after some 'harmless banter.'" EDI said in her defence. Normally, Tharrissa would encourage, or involve herself in these sort of discussions, but she had to get to Garrus. Her stomach spasmed with pain as she remembered the floating chunks of debris that littered the other end of the relay. All were the result of ships not being able to navigate through the Omega 4 relay. She vowed that Garrus would not join the litany of destroyed spaceships.

"Take us through."

"Hitting the relay in 3…2…1" In a blinding red glow, the energy of the relay enfolded itself around the Normandy, basking them in a piercing light. Then they slowed severely as Joker swerved severely to avoid the mass of ancient derelict ships that filled the sun-bathed skies.

"That was too close. Where the hell is Garrus?" Shepard demanded. In unison, EDI and Joker maneuvered through the debris field at impossible angles, concentrating too hard to reply to Shepard.

"Wait, there he is!" Joker finally responded. "I want to know who the hell his pilot is! How dare they try to best me…" A small, narrow ship could just be detected through the hordes of deadly debris. Deftly and nimbly, the Normandy interweaved through broken ship after ship until they advanced closer to the still flying ship ahead of them. After a marginally avoiding a head on collision with what looked like a fragmented dreadnought, the Normandy approached a gap in the debris field where they could see Garrus' ship in the open. Tharrissa squinted to make out the writing on the side of the ship. In blue lettering, the ship was named, 'Archangel.'


	5. Bittersweet reunion

"Send a transmission." Shepard ordered; her heart racing at the prospect of finally talking to Garrus after one long year of uncertainty.

"While flying around a massive deadly maze of fragmented ships? You speak into the comm. He's your problem, er I mean partner." Joker retorted, narrowly missing another chunk of debris.

"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy SR2. You are in a place that only one ship has ever come out of alive." Tharrissa paused, and then added in an almost teasing tone. "Care to elaborate?" There was silence from the other ship for a long time. But the calm, turian voice that replied could only be one person.

"Tharrissa, how did you know?" Garrus answered.

"With way too many strings attached for my liking. I had to negotiate with _The Illusive Man_ to find you."

"Well, you must have really wanted to find me then." Garrus knew how much Shepard despised Cerberus.

"Yeah, I did. You have a lot of explaining to do once we are out of this debris field and we dock on your ship."

"You deserve an explanation Shepard. But you won't be able change my mind."

"We'll see." Shepard replied, with a challenge under toning her voice. She ended the transmission and turned to Joker and EDI. "I know Garrus, once he has his mind set on something, nothing in the world will stop him."

"If he is really set on taking down the reapers, then he is just as zany as you. So, you make a pretty good couple. Good luck commander, you could have a stubbornness competition with him. I bet you are both Taurus'…" Joker muttered. The ship suddenly jerked and lurched as some debris hit a wing. "Now THAT just appeared out of nowhere, I saw it just… appear!"

"Out of nowhere?" Shepard suggested.

"Exactly! EDI, where were you?"

"Jeff, I analysed all possible routes and the collision on our wing was the least impactful of all the potential routes." The robotic voice responded.

"She just wants to keep me on my toes." Joker muttered begrudgingly. Shepard peered out of the cockpit windows. The sky was an imposing light brown colour; debris, rocks and ships all littered the sky. Dark, brown clouds surged past a storming yellow sun with frightening speed, informing her that the wind in this atmosphere was furious. The Normandy was swaying manically from side to side, and the ship in front of them was doing the same with a similar expertise. Tharrissa was also curious as to who drove the Archangel, Joker was one of the best pilots in the galaxy, but he may have met his match. As long as he didn't do anything stupid to show off.

After suffering another scrape along the side of the Normandy, a fact that damaged Joker's insurmountable ego, they finally made it out of the debris field. Tharrissa wasted no time.

"Ready for us to dock?" Shepard asked, opening the comm relay to Garrus' ship.

"Yeah." Replied a female voice, the pilot. "Don't take too long. We're only in collector space after all, and we may get, you know, the collectors attacking us or something while you two-"

Something cut off her mid-speech however, and Garrus' ship extended its airlock to the Normandy. Shepard was amazed by how much their pilot's snarky comments sounded like Joker. As she strode from the cockpit, she could hear Joker mumbling about being the superior pilot to her. The decontamination process in the airlock took far too long for Shepard's liking. Suited up in her N7 armour, you would think she was about to venture into an all-out battle.

In one way, she was.

Finally she was aboard. An electronic voice spoke from an announcer:

"Welcome to the Archangel." Shepard couldn't help but half-smile at the reference to Garrus' nickname. The ship's name certainly suited the mission Garrus had embarked on.

Then Tharrissa's eyes fixed on the scarred turian with blue, damaged armour who walked around the corner to greet her.

Tharrissa was furious. But not even that anger could stop the relief and happiness she felt from seeing him again. She drew close to him, and placed her arms around him. Garrus returned the gesture. Then he drew back in confusion.

"Not what I expected." He remarked.

"Well, I've been wondering where the hell you've been for the past year. And to be honest, this wasn't what I planned to do once I finally found you. But, the Normandy has been empty without you."

"Shepard, you have to understand that this is important. The galaxy is at stake, the reapers are still gathering and it's suddenly more than just you and me."

"You could have told me." She replied, the hurt and sense of betrayal in her voice made Garrus soften his voice. It also brought back the guilt he had felt when he had left the Normandy. But he reminded himself that he was fighting for her, that was his motive, although Tharrissa may not understand that was why he gained a squad and ventured into the Omega 4 relay.

"You would have followed me. And you still managed to do that even without me telling you. Come on, Tali must have already told you."

"Damn… You're right." Tharrissa whispered. "I would have followed you whatever you had done." Garrus paused to contemplate what she had said for a moment. He regarded the black haired woman before him with his green eyes, and the blue visor that flickered over them.

"There was a time when it was the other way round." He remarked thoughtfully. Thinking back to the missions where he had always been unwavering loyal to his Commander, where the trust and the unique bond between them had become so strong, that it had finally developed into a relationship. "But the reapers need to be hit where they live, when they least suspect it. I didn't want to burden you; you have already been through too much. You've done your fair share of saving the galaxy, and yet you still don't get the credit you deserve."

"If you asked, I would have joined you."

"Yeah, you probably would. But you had the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders, and after attacking the collectors, and seeing you with that huge burden in your eyes, I…" Garrus faltered. Lost for words.

"It wouldn't matter. Not with you by my side."

"Tharrissa, I'm… Not quite sure I believe that."

"Maybe one day, you will."

"Perhaps." Garrus hesitated briefly before continuing. "I must say, you are much less angry than I anticipated."

"Don't get your hopes up Garrus, I'm fuming. But luckily for you, I'm too damn happy to see you again to even care."

With that, the turian enfolded her tightly in his arms, lifting her off the ground and hugging her fiercely. As he did so, Tharrissa felt a warmth fill the void that had filled her for almost a year during his absence. Garrus spoke to her as he held her.

"I am glad to see you again too Tharrissa, but this is why I didn't want to say goodbye, I knew that if I did, I couldn't do what was necessary."

"It's ok, because I'm joining you." Shepard was firm in her words; there was no chance for negotiation. Garrus gently put her back down.

"We certainly are alike. Once you put your mind to something, there isn't a person in the galaxy who could stop you in your path." Garrus said fondly.

"Kindred spirits indeed," Tharrissa remarked with a fond smile, "but Garrus, The Illusive Man told me about some Prothean ruins within the Citadel, and we managed to recover part of a huge weapon that has a chance against the reapers." Shepard told him hopefully. Garrus sighed and leaned against the wall.

"Did he really?" He asked with masked anger. Shepard looked at him worriedly, sensing the complication from his words.

"I'm guessing there is more to this than what I know."

"He sent me there too. I managed to get half of that weapon before hordes of geth appeared and we were forced to put it on the Archangel and retreat. He asked me to go back and get the other half. But I'm not the biggest fan of Cerberus. And besides, I had a squadmate killed in those ruins Tharrissa. It just reminded me of Omega and Sidonis. And I wasn't going to let someone else from my team die for some terrorist organization."

"I would have done the same Garrus. And I'm sorry, about your squadmate. But Sidonis' betrayal wasn't your fault, and neither was your team member's death."

"I have gotten over Sidonis. He was a traitor and a dishonour to the turian race. I am sorry for the losses of my team, but it is Sidonis who must bear the burdens of their deaths, not me. He was a Krogan, the one who died fighting against those geth with us. We were hauling the weapon onto the ship with the geth firing at us. Then he goes into a blood rage and killed all the geth firing at us. Just charged at them and ripped them apart. The guy was built like a tank. But he was out in the open, and the doors opened with reinforcements. The bullets just rained down on him." Garrus bowed his head. "But I don't want to burden you with my problems. I've done that enough. However, that was why I didn't go back to get the other half of the weapon. And that's where he used you."

"I am sorry for you loss Garrus. I hope you don't let yourself become too pained by it though. The Illusive Man must have known your location for some time then. Just waiting for the perfect opportunity to blackmail me. Cerberus should have just left me for dead, there are way too many strings attached with them bringing me back to life." Shepard muttered. Garrus winced.

"Honestly? I think dealing with a human-centric organization is marginally preferable to having the galaxy wiped out by the reapers. But, seriously, while you were dead? Those were the worst two years of my life. Just to try to stay alive for now, yeah?"

"Relax Garrus; I'm not planning on getting spaced from an exploding ship again anytime soon. But, we will have to see if Mordin can do anything with this weapon. Tali and Legion can help as well. I will go get them now." Shepard turned around and began to walk back to the Normandy.

"Tharrissa?" Garrus called, she half-turned to face him.

"Yeah?"

"This wasn't how I intended this to go, and I still don't like it. But, I… really appreciate that you went through all this just to find me. That you were still glad to see me after everything, and that you are practically forcing me to accept your help. There couldn't be a better woman for me. I… Thanks, Tharrissa." Shepard was stunned. She knew that Garrus, although passionate and driven, wasn't one to confess his feelings often. So she was aware of how much it took for him to say those words, and she was elated by it.

"I'm only doing what you did for me Garrus. You were glad to see me after I was dead for two years, and still helped me despite my associations with Cerberus, which was more than most. I'm just finally repaying the debt of loyalty that I owe you after all these years you have followed me to hell and back. And I believe this will be our third trip to hell now."

She left with a smile, knowing that the turian standing in the corridor would be feeling a mixture of elucidation, shock and adoration.

As Tharrissa went through the airlock and back to the cockpit, Joker swiveled on his leather chair to face her. "Nice to see that after a little chat with your turian cop that you no longer look like you have seen the same ghost that creeps up in the corner every time you go to the bathroom…" Joker muttered, going off on one of his usual tangents. Tharrissa raised an eyebrow skeptically at him.

"Ok, I went too far then." The pilot amended. EDI chimed in, saving him from embarrassing scrutiny.

"What Jeff meant to say, is that you look much better Commander."

"Thankyou EDI." Tharrissa said.

"Hey, it was my line that she amended! Do I get any kudos?" Joker whined, still swiveling in his chair like it was a new toy.

"Nah."

"What if I told you about the crew Garrus has brought in?" Joker offered mischievously. Tharrissa leaned forward.

"Go ahead." She prompted.

"Well, that incompetent excuse for a pilot he's got is a human called Freya." He began.

"Incompetant? I thought with those moves, she could be the best pilot in the galaxy."

"Commander, that position is taken. She was way too jerky when she flew it, the Normandy dances in my hands, the Archangel was just kind of, well, jerky. Anyway, you may be interested to know, that Captain Gavorn is Garrus' second-in-command. You know, the turian on Omega whom the vorcha all fear?" Joker whispered, as if he was imparting some really juicy gossip.

"Also, he has a batarian called Salkie, apparently, he was that guy who greeted you when you traipsed off to Omega in search of Garrus. Turns out, the guy escaped once the mercs all found out you were with Archangel. Figured they didn't have a chance against you. The last member of Garrus' team is Detective Anaya from Illium, she also tagged along for the ride, all ships heading for a suicide mission need an asari on board after all." Tharrissa rolled her eyes. "She is a vanguard, like you commander."

"He's picked some good people." Shepard mused. "He will make a brilliant leader."


	6. One whole

**Thankyou foor all the review and views so far. This is my favourite chapter to date, and really suits the day of Valentine's day! Hope you enjoy!**

"Mordin, any news on the weapon?" Tharrissa asked, mentally preparing herself for an onslaught of calculations, terminology and theories that she could never hope to even begin to comprehend.

"It will destroy reapers!" Mordin exclaimed with glee, throwing Shepard off.

"Ah, good." She replied off handedly. Tali spoke up, seeing the bewilderment on Tharrissa's face.

"This weapon fires a magnetic pulse strong enough to instantly shatter basic non-organic items!" She said excitedly, motioning to what appeared to be one of Miranda's old bugs that she had placed in Mordin's lab. Tharrissa felt a pang of loss as she remembered the four coffins that lay on the engineering deck, containing the bodies of her fallen comrades.

Then, gazing at the small robotic form that had been torn apart into a barely recognizable mess, Tharrissa realised what this implied…

"You tested this weapon inside the Normandy?"

"Only a small sample. Trajectory targeted in most innocuous area. All calculations including potency of impact and possible consequences of magnetic pulse on other machinery all taken into account. Plus, extra precautions to ensure…" This was more the response Tharrissa expected. She switched off as the salarian scientist droned on about the supposed 'safety' of the experiment.

A deep sniff alerted her back to what Mordin was saying.

"You should tell Garrus. He will be pleased." The seemingly innocent smile the scientist wore reminded Shepard of when he lectured her about turian-human relations. She concluded that this was not a good sign.

"The weapon of those who opposed the old gods could ensure their demise." Tharrissa was certain she could detect eagerness in Legion's robotic voice. "Calibrator-Garrus should be informed, given his expertise in weapons."

Calibrator-Garrus? Tharrissa rubbed her forehead with her hand as she left the lab begrudgingly, pondering at whether this was humour from the geth, or a genuine title. It was always difficult to tell with Legion. He could fluctuate between discussing serious moral issues, to 'unintentionally' infiltrating the Citadel. And passing, as a geth, unhindered, through what is boasted to be the most advanced security system in the galaxy. The galaxy was a strange place…

Before she was even aware of it, her feet had led her to the airlock again. So much for playing hard to get.

After the whole 'decontamination' process, the airlock opened and Shepard stepped back onto the Archangel. As she walked down the corridor towards the cockpit, Tharrissa wondered how long they will be able to remain undetected in collector space. The Normandy had a stealth cloaking system, but she doubt that the Archangel did.

"So you're the one everyone's talking about?" A voice came from the pilot's seat. A woman with blonde hair tied into a loose bun turned on her chair to face her. "I'm Freya. The one who led your pilot out of the debris field. Your welcome by the way." She said with a half smile.

"You and Joker really should meet." Tharrissa muttered.

"Huh. Garrus always says that too. Speaking of which, he is up the elevator in his quarters, I imagine you didn't follow us through the Omega 4 relay to set me up with some pilot who 'claims' he is the best in the galaxy."

"Yep. Definitely should meet." Tharrissa muttered to herself as she followed Freya's directions to the elevator. As the doors opened on the Commander's deck, Tharrissa felt a sense of pride at Garrus becoming the leader of his own ship. She admired how he had managed to assemble a new crew so shortly after his team on Omega was killed.

As she walked out of the elevator, the door leading to the Commanders quarters opened, Garrus stepped out, and then looked up with surprise.

"Oh, I… didn't expect to see you here." He remarked. "Come in." Tharrissa followed him back into a room with basic furnishings, and a rather impressive collection of model ships surpassing her own in her quarters. "What is it Tharrissa?"

"Well, firstly Garrus, Mordin, Tali and Legion managed to assemble the weapon and have it working. They are attaching it onto the ship at the moment. But they wanted me to inform you, as you are the weapon expert." She said nervously.

"Got it. And the second thing?" He asked.

"Well," Tharrissa inhaled deeply. "I think this counts as a high risk operation…"

"And you want to relieve some stress?" Garrus finished, leaning back on one hip and gazing at Shepard intensely.

"Yes."

"Of course Tharrissa. But I have to know first." Garrus walked closer to Tharrissa until he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Why the instant forgiveness? Not that I don't appreciate it. But I didn't expect it."

"I don't know. I have been so furious and bitter for one long year while you were missing. I was paranoid of all the possible things that could have happened, I imagined all the worst possible circumstances and it didn't help that many people thought you had died. We searched for so long, I don't know if my crew approved of spending all our time looking for you, but they followed me anyway. But, when I saw you again… It was like all the worry, the paranoia and the fear all dissipated. " She sighed. "Sorry Garrus, I really didn't mean to go off like that."

"Your crew will follow you through anything, I would know, I was a part of it for a long time. And I am sure they were worried about you rather than disapproving about your search for me. If it helps at all, I am sorry for what I put you through, I never imagined it would affect you like that. But this is for the good of us all. Do you know now why we need to do this?

"Yeah, I understand. Thanks Garrus, for everything." Tharrissa looked down at the ground. "I didn't before, but I do now. After all," she looked back up at Garrus, "love can make you do stupid things."

The turian before her almost let go of her shoulders in shock and his eyes widened. Tharrissa waited patiently while Garrus sifted through the surprise Shepard's confession had given him. His body stiffened in what appeared to be nervousness. Then his talons slowly lowered to Tharrissa's waist where he held her tightly.

"Then I guess what I'm doing is _really_ stupid."

Freya stepped into the elevator, ready to tell Garrus that the Prothean weapon had been fixed onto the Normandy. When she looked at the controls to pick the first floor however, there was a handwritten sign stating:

'Deck one is closed for repairs.'

Freya squinted at the sign, "What? Repairs my ass." She muttered, pressing the button for deck one. But pressing the button yielded no effect, no matter how hard she jabbed at it. Eventually sighing in defeat, she swung on her heel and returned to the cockpit.

Meanwhile, a hooded figure in a shadowed corner watched the event transpire with a mischievous smile.

The calm before the storm.

And Tharrissa was at her most peaceful. Their armour lay in a mismatched pile of damaged black and blue, and Tharrissa's N7 blue and dark purple. After so much time apart, they had explored each other's bodies with a renewed furtiveness. And now, they lay panting, side by side on the floor.

Tharrissa turned her head slightly towards the undisturbed bed beside them.

"Why didn't we go for the obvious option?" She mused.

"It was too far away. We couldn't have gotten there in time." Garrus rumbled. He leant over to tighten her arm on her back, drawing her closer to him. Tharrissa's back felt like it had just been charged at by a biotic blast, and her legs didn't feel much better. But she had never been so utterly content in her life.

Apart from once, the night they had spent in the main batteries. The bittersweet prelude they had before Garrus disappeared.

As if he knew the pain Tharrissa felt, he softly stroked his talons up and down the length of her back.

"I'd hate to cut this short, but we are in collector space with the threat of reapers." Garrus cocked his head to one side. "And that is probably what makes this even better." He murmured.

"Very well, but we will be continuing where we left off after saving the galaxy. Besides, your crew may wondering where you are."

"Won't your crew be wondering where you are as well?"

"No. I get the feeling that they sent me to tell you about the weapon with the intent that this would happen."

"Mordin?"

"Yes."

Tharrissa laughed, and then rolled over, stood up and started clothing herself. She then put her armour on over that. Garrus just had his armour to wear, which he put on with much familiarity. Once they were fully equipped, they stood before each other.

Tharrissa raised her hand to the scarred side of Garrus' face, reaching up at the bandage. Slowly and carefully, she peeled away the white material from his cheek and neck, revealing a web of scars underneath. After dropping the bandage, she ran her hand over those wounds. Garrus raised his talon to Tharrissa's cheek, caressing similar scars that softly glowed with cybernetics.

"I'm ready, let's destroy the reapers." Tharrissa suggested. Garrus smiled, then they exited his quarters with an unbending will to eliminate the galactic threat to all life.


	7. Overcoming death

Both the Archangel's crew and Shepard's crew were all assembled in the debriefing room of the Normandy. There were still a few cracks in the wall. Echoes from the last time the Normandy entered Collector space. And as Shepard stood before those risking their lives for the mission, with Garrus standing by her side, she knew that taking care of the reapers may be her last mission. She had felt this way last time too, but she never let anyone know. And neither would she this time.

The stress of the mission began to mount as she considered their chances. But then Garrus stroked his talon over her hand. She had finally found him again, and there was no way they would be separated again.

"Reapers think they can repeat a cycle of unending genocide. They wiped out the Protheans, twisted them into collectors, and they intend to wipe all of us out too. Or worse. But this time, we have a weapon against them. A legacy that the Protheans were too late to use, but something that can give us a chance." As Tharrissa talked, she felt her confidence increase as the eyes of the crew focused on her.

"EDI has picked up on something from last time we went through the Omega 4 relay. She spotted an ancient ship that is mostly intact. She says that the energy signatures transmitted from it are curious. She also says that it is possible that life exists on this ship. It was damaged persistently by something off immense power. Perhaps a reaper. We may be able to find something that can help us on that ship."

An image flashed up from the metallic table in the centre of the room. It was the floating ship, worn with age and scarred beyond repair, but remarkably, still intact. All systems appeared to be dormant. Almost as if it were trying not to be noticed. EDI's interface sprung from the table.

"This ship has a stealth system like the Normandy. But the technology sustaining the stealth field is very different from this design. Joker looked out of the window, and 'saw' it." She said, with a robotic tone of irony.

"Thanks for the kudos." Joker said sarcastically on the intercom.

"We know nothing about this ship." Tharrissa told them. "So I think it would be best to take a small team on, and perhaps bring others on later if it is appropriate. But bear in mind, that out here, we are vulnerable. We have a powerful weapon that will weaken the reapers. But we need to know more about them. And find out how this ship may have survived a ferocious battle with a reaper. Soon, we will be charging into reaper territory, guns a blazin', so we need a little more information first."

"I like that plan." Gavorn approved, loading his gun in anticipation.

"Take us through Joker." Shepard ordered through the intercom. She and Garrus strode to the cockpit while the rest of the crew stayed in the com room, all talking in a flurry. A mixture of fear, confusion and anticipation emanated from the room.

"Tharrissa, our chances may be quite low, so if everything doesn't work out…" Garrus began.

"Don't talk like that Garrus. I've found you, and together we are going to annihilate those bastards."

"Remind me to never get on the wrong side of you."

"As long as you're by my side, then you are definitely on the _right_ side of me." Tharrissa turned her head over her shoulder to look at Garrus. "Remember that the next time you decide to embark on a deadly mission. Even if it is for my sake." She gave him a smile before continuing down the hall to the cockpit. The turian watched her swaying hips bemusedly, before continuing down the corridor along with her.

Joker was already steering the Normandy near the derelict ship. At first glance, it appeared to be nothing that a huge, ancient hulk of uncared debris. Luckily, EDI had scanned the ship, discovering that there was far more there than it seems. The Archangel followed the Normandy until it docked by the ship.

"Nothing." Joker muttered. "I can almost hear some space tumbleweed out there… It isn't reacting to our presence at all, and it isn't even reaching out a docking port. You'll have to suit up and space walk onto the ship."

Tharrissa cringed and bit her lip. She began clenching and unclenching her fists nervously. Garrus noticed, but didn't mention anything in front of Joker.

"Ok then. Put us by the nearest door and we'll get ready." He replied. Garrus guided Tharrissa to the now empty debriefing room, away from prying ears.

"Tharrissa, are you alright?" He asked worriedly, resting a talon on her hand.

"A suit didn't help me last time I was out in space." She murmured darkly, remembering with bitterness the panic that had seized upon her mind when she got spaced before. The Normandy had been decimated by a collector ship, and she was propelled into space by a violent explosion. Transcending slowly among the starry darkness was almost peaceful at first. But then the explosion ruptured her suit. She vividly remembered clawing at the rupture, and then her neck as she suffocated to death.

Fighting deformed creatures, risking her life everyday for her crew, for the galaxy, she could cope with. But having her memories tormented with the intense helplessness that accompanied her death plagued her dreams.

Garrus brought her back to the present.

"It will be fine Tharrissa. This time you won't be surrounded by explosions and a space battle. Not yet anyway." He amended.

"And how do I know that I won' get a suit rupture again, or burn up in some planet's atmosphere and get spaced again?" She asked.

"You won't." Garrus said with certainty. "Trust me." Tharrissa sighed. If there was person she trusted in this twisted up galaxy with every fibre of her being, it was him.

"Well, you have me there. You already know that I trust you more than anyone else."

"You do?" He asked with genuine obliviousness. Tharrissa balked. She thought it would have been obvious, and she was surprised that he was unaware of the depth of trust she had for him. However, Garrus and Tharrissa were best of friends before they engaged in a relationship with each other, and often, in such a situation, you had to be obvious.

"Of course!" She exclaimed.

"Right, then I guess you are up for going out in space again then?"

"As long as you are right by me."

"I'd never be anywhere else."

"Let's suit up then."

"Ok. That was… surprisingly easy."

"You said the 'trust' word."

"I see. So will the 'trust' word always get me what I want?"

"I'm a woman. Of course not."

"Ah well, it was worth a shot." Laughing together, they exited the debriefing room and fitted their helmets onto their heads. In the armoury, Tharrissa called dibs on the Vindicator assault rifle, much to Garrus' dismay, who settled for a Viper sniper rifle.

"I think I will take Kasumi and Legion with us for this one. I get the feeling that this will be an espionage mission initially. What do you think we will find?" Tharrissa enquired casually.

"Honestly? I don't have a clue. But whoever is hidden there sure has gone to great lengths to ensure that they aren't detected. And, that ship is ancient. If someone is holed up in there, they couldn't have survived without any supplies for so long."

"Now I'm just even more curious." Tharrissa whispered enthusiastically. She turned on her intercom and told Legion and Kasumi to suit up and meet them by the airlock. As she and Garrus chatted and dawdled down the corridor, they saw that Legion was already waiting there.

"I'm guessing you don't need much preparation to go into space then?" Shepard asked after looking at usual hole in Legion's body and the N7 armour that he had strapped onto himself.

"Geth do not breathe or respire. We have natural implants and armour that allow us to go, unhindered through space." Legion answered in his robotic tones. Tharrissa was more than slightly envious.

Kasumi arrived with a helmet underneath her black hood. She had the same oxygen pack strapped to her back that Garrus and Tharrissa also wore.

"Ready." She confirmed eagerly, brimming with excitement. The airlock opened and they all stepped in. Tharrissa took a deep breath before the docking door opened into space. Although a sun blazed nearby and the sky was painted with striking splashes of brown, orange and yellow, the fact that they were beyond planetary atmosphere was unmistakable by the complete void that lived alongside space.

Outstretching a leg, Kasumi stepped out into space, using a jet pack like mechanism to help her maneuver around in the dead atmosphere.

"Ready?" Garrus asked. Tharrissa nodded tensely. He held her arm and then stepped out of the airlock, and into the empty space that separated them from the derelict ship.

Desperately, Tharrissa tried to repel the painful memories of her panic filled death. The lack of control, the overwhelming feeling of helplessness. But with Garrus' arm over hers, guiding her, she shut those recollections from her mind, and focused on her mission.

Tharrissa never liked to show weakness. So she suppressed all fear as she drifted the entire way to the door of the ancient ship. Garrus looked at her with a strong sense of admiration, Tharrissa smiled back. Kasumi noticed, of course, but remained silent.

They all jumped in shock when the metal, grating doors yawned open before them, with a howling screech that revealed they hadn't been opened for years. They entered the ship cautiously, all peering around suspiciously.

And then a blunt, robotic voice blared onto the intercom.

'We have intruders who have invaded our privacy. Three organics have entered the ship. Weapons online.'

"That didn't sound too friendly…" Garrus muttered. Footsteps echoed down the hall. Out of impulse, all three of them dove for cover to await the upcoming battle.


	8. Broken remains

But only one, lone figure turned the corner to meet them. Tharrissa peeked past the wall over her shoulder and discerned that the figure was unarmed.

"Who are you?" She asked, remaining behind the safety of the wall.

"One who will not attack you, save in defence." A soft, mournful voice replied. With a deep inhale, Tharrissa swung round in the open to face him. Her gun still in her hand. Garrus and Kasumi immediately joined her.

"Why have you come here? Where none have ventured in so many millennia." The man enquired.

"You have taken great care to hide yourselves here. Undisturbed for so long. We think that you could help us." Tharrissa proposed, taking a step forward.

He took a step back. "What do you wish?"

"The reapers are threatening the galaxy. And we aim to stop them." Garrus responded.

"You have managed to stay hidden here for so long, how?" Tharrissa added. The robed figure bowed his head in submission. They could just see a tentacled face within the depths of his hood.

"I shall tell you, only because we have a mutual goal. On this ship, there are four Protheans. When we first hid here, there were fifteen. Our numbers have decreased dramatically since. We are all that is left of the specialist scientists that Vigil left. Our stasis tanks were opened so that we had more of a chance to escape. We created the Omega 4 relay to create a haven for ourselves. Guarded by a hostile atmosphere and a murderous debris field, we have, for the large part, been left in solitude."

"Hang on Tharrissa, why did Vigil not tell us any of this on Ilos?" Garrus asked, not yet trusting this Prothean.

"After he opened our stasis tanks, we programmed him to believe that we had become completely extinct. That way, the reapers won't hunt the last of us down."

"So all the other Protheans that didn't make it to the stasis tanks…"

"Were repurposed as Collectors. Correct." The Prothean finished.

"Will you be able to thrive again? Could you repopulate?" Tharrissa asked hopefully. The cloaked figure's head bowed even deeper.

"No. Our last female passed away recently. No manner of technology could revive her. We lasted another 50,000 years in such few numbers. But in the end, our doom was still inevitable. Just further away."

"If you have anything that can help us against the reapers, then you can have your revenge against them. Nothing can justify mass genocide." Tharrissa promised earnestly.

"And yet, you propose to exterminate the reapers, how is that any different?"

Tharrissa inhaled sharply as the force of his words stabbed her. Garrus answered for her.

"It's different because the reapers inflict a mass genocide upon the galaxy every 50,000 years. It will mean less deaths if they were destroyed. It also means they can pay retribution for what they did." Passions envenomed his voice; Tharrissa almost suspected that the Prothean would unleash fury upon him. But it just stood there, stoic and calm.

"I had forgotten what emotion felt like. I understand your determination. Perhaps we can help." He abruptly turned. Tharrissa, Garrus and Kasumi followed him down a grey corridor with scratched patches of metal providing excuses for the walls and floor. The mythical Protheans: that race whose technology had reached their very pinnacle of glory, were reduced to salvaging merely to survive.

Tharrissa shook her head in sorrow at what had been inflicted upon these tiny remains of what was once the dominant race in the galaxy. Then she noticed Garrus beside her, whose eyes were darting around nervously. Looking up, Shepard noticed the writhing masses of tubes that led directly to the room that this Prothean scientist was taking them too.

They had seen this before… Tharrissa was tempted to close her eyes when the doors were opened.

Hanging from the ceiling, and descending into the darkness below, was a reaper.

Encased in impenetrable metal, with blue energy swirling around it like shifting veins, the reapers eyes were lit open and gazing straight at them, almost in amusement. Covering the entire room, it had the ship like appearance of Sovereign, and the same eerie voice.

"So you are the ones on this futile quest?" It mocked. Tharrissa clenched her fists.

The four Protheans all amassed in front of them, all robed, and all emanating that same aura of irrevocable sadness.

"We had no choice. We needed this defence to carry on surviving." The one who had led them here explained pleadingly. Tharrissa understood; survival preceded almost everything else. "It won't attack unless we command it. And it does not share the link with other reapers. You can control its actions within the head."

"It also holds advantages over other reapers. This one contains a mass relay drive that can allow it to become invisible, teleport instantaneously, and gives it much more strength than a regular reaper."

"I'm starting to feel inferior." Kasumi murmured mournfully.

"Don't other reapers have mass effect drives too?" Garrus asked.

"Yes." A Prothean answered. "But it is only designed for interstellar travel. We made the mass relays, and we knew exactly what it's most devastating potentials can be when we designed them."

"Thankyou for giving us this. I know it must be a big gesture for you, but I assure you it won't go to waste. If we are successful, then you won't need to worry about self defence."

"We are an extinct race Shepard. We don't need to worry about self defence any longer." Tharrissa wished it was otherwise, but she knew that there was no hope for this handful of scientists who had, by sheer will, survived the extermination of their species 50,000 years after the reapers had inflicted genocide upon them. But they had endured.

"We need to return to our ships to make preparations. But we shall return to see what this reaper can do against these space abominations." Tharrissa assured.

"Space abomination? You are lucky that I do not consider myself to be a part of that inferior group that cower away for 50,000 years at a time." The reaper laughed, eerily, and hollowly. Chilled to the bone, they all trudged back to the Normandy, the crew practically teeming with anxiety upon their return.

After they explained what had transpired on the derelict, ancient ship a flurry of voices swam in Tharrissa's ears. Sighing with fatigue, Shepard called for their attention.

"I will be the one controlling the reaper. You will all be needed on the Normandy and the Archangel. We need to be as ready as we possibly can be. Garrus' breath caught in his mouth when he heard Shepard volunteering to be in the most life threatening position. He clenched his jaw and decided to discuss it with her in private.

As they left the debriefing room, Shepard took the elevator to her quarters, Garrus stuck by her side. She already knew what he was going to talk to her about. But she had weighed her options, and as the Commander of a crew that were all so devotingly loyal to her, there were no other options. Once inside her room, Garrus simply paced in what appeared to be a mixture of worry, fear and uncertainty, not knowing what to say.

"Garrus you have to believe me when I say that it's the only way. I am not going to risk another member of my crew doing something like this. Enough of them gave their lives on the Collector station." Garrus bowed his head at her words. He had lost his entire crew on Omega, he knew how deep the pain could burn. And as the Commander of his own crew, he empathized with Tharrissa.

"There has to be another way. What about one of the Protheans?" He asked desperately.

"They have given their last and only line of defence. I could never ask for such a sacrifice from a race with only four beings remaining."

"You're right. Dammit." Tharrissa laid her hands on his shoulders and rubbed them soothingly, even though armour covered them.

"I don't intend to die Garrus. But someone needs to control that reaper if we have any chance."

"I'll be there with you."

"What?"

"I'm not going to let you have all the fun. You insisted on coming through the Omega 4 relay with me, I'm insisting on operating the reaper with you." Tharrissa sighed at his iron-willed stubbornness.

"Mmm. I may need more convincing…" She whispered. She felt his strong arms wrap around her in an almost crushing embrace. Tharrissa closed her eyes and leaned back as she felt his mouth moving against her neck.

"I'm not going to lose you again Tharrissa." He promised with such an intense fervor that she believed it herself.

"You never will. I'll make sure of it." She intertwined her hands with Garrus; then gently led him towards the bed. He sat on the edge tentatively, then laid down when Tharrissa put her body against his. Without Tharrissa, he had felt empty, hollow, where there should be warmth. But now, with her passionate kisses, her soft curves and her ardent rhythms, he finally felt complete.

Even though his gaze always seemed to be transfixed on the piloting interface, Joker still seemed to notice everything.

"Well, I'm glad you like to enjoy yourself before certain death guys. Because some of us don't get the amount of leave we deserve." The pilot muttered. Tharrissa put her hand on her ruffled black hair.

'Is it really that obvious?' She mouthed to Garrus. The turian nodded, then motioned back towards the crew in the navigation room, many of which were looking at them and murmuring.

Tharrissa shrugged. Kasumi had already told her that everyone knew, and that they were happy for the couple, even if it appeared – at first – to be an odd match. Garrus was slightly more conscious, but he cared more about how Tharrissa felt for him than the Normandy crew.

They both lurched to the ground as the Normandy spun wildly.

"SHIT!" Joker yelled. "There's a reaper right in front of us. It just appeared!"

"Right in front of us?" Tharrissa inquired mockingly.

"Shepard! We have been through this before." Joker retorted, wildly twisting the Normandy again to avoid another blaze of fire from the reaper. Beside the Normandy, the Archangel danced to the side as well and Tharrissa thanked the gods that Freya was one of the best damn helmsmans in the galaxy.

"Tharrissa, we have to get to the Protheans' reaper." Garrus said with a forced calm.

"We can't. Joker has had to maneuver us away from that ship, we aren't even connected to the damn thing." With those words, a stray beam from the reapers' main cannon pierced into the derelict ship that held the remains of an almost extinct species. Joker desperately tried to navigate away from the ship, and fired the Thanix cannon, trying to distract the reaper.

But somehow, the reaper must have known that the deceitfully empty ship housed their enemies. Blaze after blaze of beams tore into the ship until it exploded apart in a swirling, writhing mass of flame.

But born from those flames, was the reaper that the Protheans had kept dormant for so long. Rising out of the smoke like a metallic dragon from its lair.


	9. Falling from grace

Unblemished from the surrounding explosions, it steered towards the Normandy, matching the rhythms of the wildly swaying Normandy. While the hostile reaper turned around for a counter attack, the reaper ally maneuvered to the side of the Normandy.

Tharrissa and Garrus fastened their helmets as they sprinted to the airlock. The decontamination process proved increasingly frustrating in wake of an unbearably tense silence. Finally, the doors opened to where their mechanical ally had extended its bridge.

'Your arrival was infuriatingly slow.' The reaper spoke as they followed the silver corridor to the reaper's core, where they could have full control over it.

"Blame it on our organic material." Tharrissa suggested.

'With pleasure.'

"So, what name do I give to this most charming reaper?"

'Thanatos will do nicely.'

"How fitting."

They reached a room with a vast network of tubes, bewildering technology and dazzling bright lights. Tharrissa and Garrus both gasped at the technology the Protheans had used. They consisted of organic material: flesh-like wires, vat grown muscles that operated kinetic performances and nerve systems for what normally be 'electrical' responses.

'You do delay very much to say that you are so eager to destroy the hostile reapers. I can't perform at optimum capacity unless you assume control of my functions.' Thanatos spoke with a condescending annoyance.

"How do we go about that?" Tharrissa asked.

'The tubes that are rested on the table to your left will attach onto the sides of your head. You can then use your brain impulses to command my actions.'

"I'll do it." Tharrissa ordered before Garrus could protest. He opted to stay silent, but the worry was evident in the tightness of his mandibles and his clenched fists.

Without hesitation, the formidable woman followed Thanatos' instructions and the tubes attached themselves to her head. Garrus gasped when Tharrissa's normally emerald eyes went blank as she connected her mind to the reaper. Impulsively, he reached out to her, but Tharrissa was no longer conscious of her immediate surroundings. Her awareness had reached out into the depths of space.

Noticing that Thanatos was hostile, their reaper adversary began an onslaught of concentrated fire straight for them. It took every precious ounce of Tharrissa's sense to dodge the attacks, whilst co-ordinating Thanatos' weapons. It possessed thrashing claws if an opponent drew in too close, a long range beam cannon, missiles, fire and ice beam turrets and mass effect magnetic renders.

Quicker than reactions speed, Tharrissa and Thanatos internally conversed about the weapon options.

'Mass effect magnetic renders?' Tharrissa asked curiously.

'They have largely unpredictable outcomes. They could powerfully tear apart a well protected ship, send it spinning into space at an unfathomable speed, or overload all the systems of the ship. Causing it to cease all its operations, and ultimately, causing its demise.'

'Sounds fun.'

'It could also backfire and rip me apart as well as you and your turian companion. Still sound fun?'

'I always find that danger and fun are synonymous anyway.' Tharrissa's mind ordered Thanatos to charge up its mass effect core as she continued to twin wield the fire and ice turrets to optimize damage. However, even Thanatos' guns were much more powerful than she expected as they shredded through the armour of the reaper.

A thick ray of light appeared by Thanatos' right and Tharrissa saw the Normandy firing its Thanix cannon. The powerful impact tore the reaper's hull apart and the metal fragments shattered into the air; slowly drifting into space.

An almost sadistic grin spread across Tharrissa's face. Garrus caught the feverish gleam in her eyes as the pieces of the dead reaper adorned space.

"All these fancy guns and it's still my tech that finishes off the reaper." He remarked as she disconnected the tubes from her head to talk to him.

"Oh come on! I broke it down for you."

"Fine then. We can both have the credit, but I'm keeping a tally."

'I do apologise to stop your little game,' Thanatos interjected sarcastically, 'but an army of reapers are heading our way.' Tharrissa wasted no time to connect the tubes back up after her short reprieve. Garrus stood by the window, encased in a see through metal, to watch the ensuing battle.

The Archangel and the Normandy both deftly moved through space with an almost graceful confidence. At times, intertwining with one another in dangerous maneuverers that suggested that Joker and Freya were 'showing off.'

And then the onslaught of fire, bullets and beams hit them as a wall. Barriers already up, Garrus grimaced as he felt Thanatos jerk with the force of the firepower. Tharrissa had steered clear of the majority of the first wave however, and the smaller ships also appeared to be relatively unharmed. Garrus glanced at Tharrissa to see her totally absorbed in controlling the ship, unable to even see him as she stared grimly ahead, her face set in a resolute determination.

Therefore, Garrus turned on the radio himself.

"Joker, set up the Prothean weapon, this is them, the army."

"Someone else do it. I'm a little preoccupied at the moment, you know, with dodging thousands of bullets as well as co-ordinating the weapons." The pilot responded snarkliy.

"Get Tali and Legion on it." Garrus closed the channel and then radioed his own ship.

"Garrus, I'm glad you called back but I'm kinda busy right now." Freya answered. Garrus couldn't help but suppress a smile. Both pilots were so alike it was uncanny.

"The Normandy is bringing the Prothean weapon online. It hasn't been fully tested, so stay away. And no need to show off in front of Joker. There will be time to flirt later."

"I wasn't –"

"Yeah yeah. Watch out for the next wave of firepower." Garrus warned as light loomed ahead of them once again. There must be about a hundred reapers out there. Against the three of them…

And Shepard called their previous mission a suicide.

'The mass effect core is powered up sufficiently.' Thanatos informed Tharrissa, whose excitement was building up. She ordered the location of the magnetic renders and watched the outcome with anticipation.

The impact affected five reapers. One was completely and utterly ripped apart after being enfolded in the blue energy. Another simply stopped, and then dropped down until it hit atmosphere, all of its systems disrupted. A third reaper was sent hurtling into another reaper, sending them both spinning out into space at an almost instantaneous speed. The last two enemies hit were cracked apart significantly, but still operational.

The Normandy took the opportunity immediately and sent the Thanix cannon beam to pierce through both of them. They disintegrated and dropped out of the fleet, completely destroyed. Garrus made a mental note. He could also practically see Freya scowling at Joker's success.

But the manic gleam in Tharrissa's eyes really hit him hard. Doubts began swirling in his mind. The power which lay in her grasp made her feverishly excited, and craving for more. With an almost obsessive fervor, she began firing weapons, swinging Thanatos from side to side to dodge fire and charging up the mass effect core again.

Garrus subconsciously reached out to lay a talon on her shoulder, to subdue her and calm her down. But he realized such an effort would be futile, locked in a consciousness with Thanatos, she wasn't aware of him no more than he was aware of every grain of dust that lay, unnoticed in the galaxy.

Feeling helpless, and frustrated, he paced; watching as Thanatos, the Normandy and the Archangel combined to take down reaper after reaper. Finally, he heard Joker's voice on the intercom.

"Garrus the Prothean weapon is ready. Permission to wipe out these sons of bitches?"

"Give them hell Joker." He replied, moving over to the window in anticipation.

A steady stream of white light slowly poured from the Normandy, reaching out towards the reapers. It seemed that the entire universe became deadly silent while the light wrapped itself around all the reapers.

They stopped moving. Stopped firing guns. It seemed that they had become completely immobilized.

Then, one by one, they split apart. Breaking asunder with an explosion that spread across the entire fleet. Garrus could feel the weights that had been there for so long, finally lifting off his shoulders. He looked across to Tharrissa, who also had an expression of ecstatic joy as she watched the destruction of the reapers.

He jumped when the cheers from the intercom interrupted the awe filled silence as the crew from both ships celebrated. Garrus couldn't believe that it had been so easy, that the Prothean weapon that didn't have the time to ever be used, was so powerful. There had to be a catch. Garrus wasn't convinced.

But for now he would celebrate with the crew. Tharrissa had disconnected her link herself with Thanatos, and immediately went over to Garrus and threw her arms around him.

"We've done it! It's finally over Garrus! After all these years." Garrus stroked through her hair, happy at the joy that was in her voice. Noticing that she spoke without the stress and fatigue that usually weighed down her words.

"I hate to say it Shepard, but I told you so." He reminded her, she gave a full laugh, and gripped him tighter.

'Please. Take your fondling elsewhere. You organics have such confusing displays of weakness in the need to constantly touch one another.' Thanatos interrupted the couple from their victory celebrations. Too happy to be annoyed at the reaper, they simply laughed, and left for the Normandy.


	10. Dancing with Demons

With this chapter, a new image for Heroes Never Die, made by Nodscouter on BSN! (Thanks Nod!)

..\..\Pictures\Pics for motivationals\

Every member of the crew was elated beyond comprehension. Joyful grins greeted Garrus and Tharrissa as they entered the mess hall, along with a bubble of excited voices. Even Jack begrudgingly accepted a delighted hug from Tali. Cheers embraced them as they sat down, and two bottles of wines were immediately placed in front of them both.

Tharrissa took a polite sip out of her bottle for courtesy's sake, but she rarely allowed herself the time to drink. But when Garrus poured himself a glass of wine suitable for his dextro-based species to drink, Tharrissa shrugged, and poured her own glass.

But something nagged at the back of her mind, some unknown influence that lurked within her, dormant for now, but with an unmistakable presence.

Garrus laid a talon on her arm; Tharrissa broke her thoughts from the strange sensation in her mind.

"Relax Tharrissa, it's over with. It may have seemed too easy, but they are all gone, and we are alive. You should celebrate." He suggested, Tharrissa raised her glass.

"To destroying the reapers once and for all! For saving the galaxy to honour the fallen Protheans, and remaining vigilant over the protection of the galaxy. And finally, to Thanatos! Without our own reaper, we never could have hoped to win. May the power that we deserve finally be given to us!"

It was a rather odd toast towards the end. And it was precisely what Garrus worried about. But in front of the crew, he raised his glass to the toast, and everyone else quickly followed with cheers.

The celebrations died down like embers upon a once roaring fire. Tharrissa had returned to her quarters, keeled over in her chair, holding her throbbing temples. She had kept her drinking to a minimum, but still the pain threatened to numb her mind. But Tharrissa didn't want to disturb Dr. Chakwas with something that she considered minor.

The doors to her room opened and she straightened up immediately, pretending to be replying to an email on her terminal. Garrus raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's the matter, Tharrissa?" He asked concernedly.

"Well, you can always see straight through whatever façade I put up anyway. I just have a migraine Garrus, nothing to worry about." She shrugged, and concentrated on not letting the pain show on her face. Even though she knew it would be a futile attempt before her ever observant lover.

"Dr. Chakwas will always take the time to look at you, you know."

"It's not serious enough, I'll cope through it."

"Uh huh."

"Fine, it's hurting like a bitch. But it will pass. This is supposed to be a night to celebrate anyway. I don't intend to let some little headache get in the way of that."

"Would you like me to take a look at it?"

"Sure." Garrus sat on the sofa, and Tharrissa went over to lounge in front of him. Softly, he rested his talons on her temples and began to massage them. Pleasantly surprised, Tharrissa found herself relaxing and the pain easing away.

"So what was it like, fighting alongside a reaper? What were the weapons like?" He asked eagerly. Tharrissa imagined Garrus had been eager to ask about the weapons on Thanatos right from the beginning. His expertise with all kinds of different arms could not even compare with the might of a reaper.

"It was like inflicting destruction with just a single thought. The weapons could be used for our own benefit if we could replicate them! The galaxy would no longer be vulnerable! Just think of it."

"Mmm." Garrus rumbled. He stroked through her raven black hair before his talons settled on her shoulders, massaging them with an almost exaggerated care. "You know Tharrissa, that power is not everything. Sometimes, such risks are not worth it." He said softly.

"In this case, the risk would be worth it. If we joined with the reapers, created our own and merged forces together, we would be unstoppable!" The feverish gleam had returned to Tharrissa's eyes. It took all of Garrus' self control to stop her there and then. But he knew that such a course could be very dangerous while she was in this condition. So he continued to massage her, soothing her mind into a state of relaxation.

"You can also increase in power without being dependant on something else Tharrissa. Look at you, you got to where you are now because you relied on yourself to get the job done." Garrus began to get nervous as he strove to choose his words carefully. The woman before could quickly become dangerous if he didn't.

"We can reach a height of power through our own potential. But with a race like the reapers, we can elevate ourselves beyond that potential; become even more powerful. Just think Garrus, all the criminals will fear us, those who have wronged us will pay, and we will be able to set the scales of justice to how it should be across the entire galaxy."

He had to admit, it was a tempting offer if he knew that it would be the case. But Garrus was reminded of Saren's indoctrination two years ago. He began with good intentions, strove to use power to help the galaxy, but in the end, he became a puppet for the reapers. A toy to be discarded.

Never, would Garrus allow anything to use Tharrissa like that.

"Tharrissa, listen to me. Is there someone else in your mind? Someone influencing your thoughts?" He asked desperately, fear colouring his voice. He jumped up when Tharrissa lit up with biotic power, and then slammed her fist through the table. Glad that he wasn't the target, he waited for her to cool down. She clutched her head, and buried it in her arms.

"Yes, there is." She whispered, sounding almost strangled. Garrus ran to the intercom, and switched it on with a trembling finger.

"Mordin. Get to the Shepard's quarters NOW!" He ordered.

"Right away." The professor confirmed.

A blue mist swirled around Tharrissa as she strove to fight the beginnings of indoctrination that were starting to poison her mind. Garrus paced furiously, feeling frustratingly helpless. The doors opened and Mordin entered, carrying some equipment that was completely unknown to Garrus. But the salarian also carried his hand cannon pistol, which was very well known to the turian. He clenched his fists as the doctor rushed to Shepard.

"Indoctrination?" He asked. Getting straight to the point as always. Garrus could only nod.

"Suspected as much. Odd remarks during toast should have alerted me. But the eyes gave it away. Is she dangerous?" Again, Garrus could only nod mutely. He stood unerringly still with his back held completely straight with tension. To his shock, Mordin gave him the hand cannon pistol.

"Use this if you must. Understand that you have feelings for her, therefore you know you must use it if necessary." The doctor instructed him.

Garrus wrapped his talons around the handle, and then bowed his head while he prayed that he wouldn't have to use it. Mordin cautiously approached Shepard who peeked at him from a gap from her arms, but other than that, remained coiled like a deadly snake.

"Shepard, must run a few diagnostics. Remember, I am trying to help you. Fight the voice within you." She dipped her head slightly at Mordin's words, showing her acknowledgement. The salarian put an electronic device near her temple, it began beeping frantically.

"Brain activity suggests strong, intrusive force compelling her mind to support reapers. Indoctrination stronger than I suspect."

"Stop it." Tharrissa whispered, staring motionlessly at table in front of her, that lay shattered from her assault.

"Not so simple. No 'cure' for reaper indoctrination. Shepard must fight it." Mordin informed.

"Matriarch Benezia temporarily reclaimed her own mind on Noveria. She told us about how Sovereign had indoctrinated her and Saren, but that she couldn't continuously fight it. Saren was a traitor to the council, but he thought he was doing the right thing by joining with the reapers. Tharrissa will be manipulated into being a reaper puppet so subtly that she won't realise it. Don't tell me that there is no cure!" Garrus practically growled the last sentence.

"Can contact Illusive Man. See if Cerberus can help. But still, no cure for indoctrination, reaper weapon. Reapers don't make weapons that can be cured." Garrus tightened his grip on the pistol in anger. "I will tell Illusive Man. Careful of Tharrissa. Don't anger her." He warned before leaving the room.

"No one is strong enough to fight the mind of a reaper." Tharrissa muttered darkly from the corner.

"Shepard, don't do this…" Garrus pleaded.

"You seriously believe that feeble human technology has a chance of overpowering a mind so much more advanced than any other races in the galaxy?" She continued, standing up.

"No. But Shepard can." He promised with confidence. Tharrissa gave a chilling laugh.

"But I am Shepard, and she is I. We cannot merely be 'separated.' The only way you could, would be to kill her. And your weak heart would never allow you to commit such an act, will it?"

"But I will kill you for tainting her mind."

"Kill me and you kill us both." Shepard took a step towards Garrus, who held his ground.

"Oh, I'll find a way." He vowed. Shepard laughed again.

"So you think that you are the saviour of the galaxy because you destroyed a small portion of our numbers? And only then, you had to use a weapon with only one charge." She began to laugh coldly again, then she stopped suddenly with horror as Tharrissa's own mind reclaimed her. She looked at herself in bewilderment, growing more and more pale.

"Tharrissa is that you?" Garrus asked. She nodded mutely.

"The reaper indoctrinating your mind has just told us something that you may not want to hear." He informed her morosely.

"Tell me."

"We only destroyed a small fraction of the reaper threat. And the Prothean weapon only had one charge." Tharrissa shook her head and gazed at the ground.

"It never ends, does it?" She murmured hopelessly. Garrus moved over to her, and cautiously placed his arms around her waist.

"It will. We will make sure of it."


	11. The Test of Loyalty

_**I haven't updated this in so long. And I am sorry to keep you all! But here is what will most likely be the second to last chapter. As always, I hope you enjoy.**_

"Have her brought to the Lazarus station unconscious." The Illusive Man ordered to the hologram image of Mordin. "All the information we have on her is there, and maybe useful. Miranda may have died, but her intel remains. We will have something to stop the indoctrination."

"Right away." Mordin promised as he severed the connection. After telling Joker to head straight for the Lazarus station, he heard the crew exchanging panicked suspicions as to the state of Shepard. He ignored them, and headed to his lab, conducting research that may assist in Shepard's plight.

The doors slid open, and Mordin looked up at Tali with annoyance on his face.

"In the middle of very impor-"

"I have no doubt Mordin. But what is wrong with Shepard? What has happened?"

"Shepard indoctrinated by reapers. Need to counteract it." Mordin expected the quarian to panic and gasp in horror. But her cool, determined reply was unexpected.

"Tell me what to do."

Sweat had made her hair stick to her face as she sat perfectly still on the couch. Garrus stood a good distance away, torn between the urge to comfort his lover, and to destroy the one who intrusively shared her mind. Her lips had become drawn into a tight line, and he was certain that her dark eyes glimmered from tears that threatened to fall.

Tormented by his urges to fight with something he could not attack, Garrus uselessly clutched the hand cannon tighter.

"Is that you Garrus?" She asked her voice raspy and strained. Without thinking he went back to her side and laid a talon carefully on her shoulder.

"I'm here Tharrissa. What do you want me to do?"

"Although made by the Protheans, Thanatos still shared the collective minds of the other reapers. Otherwise, he could not nearly match their might. There are many more out there. I'm sorry Garrus, but it will be impossible to kill them all. There has to be another solution."

"Could we trap them all somewhere?"

"Exactly what I was thinking but how? Who will possibly have the technology for such a thing?"

"I'll talk to Tali, Legion and Mordin. They may have some ideas. And Tharrissa; is there anything else?"

"Yeah, I can feel the indoctrination winning again. Knock me out before it takes over." She ordered with gritted teeth. Just then, Mordin charged into the room, armed with a bottle filled with a yellow gas.

"Stay back Garrus. Best if Shepard is unconscious." The professor said, almost as if he had heard the conversation. He opened the bottle beneath Shepard's nose. She slowly closed her eyes, and relaxed into the sofa. Her back no longer a rigid, stiff line. Her face was no longer lined with tension. Tharrissa's calm pose stunned Garrus briefly before he proceeded to the elevator to assemble the crew.

Scattered around the table in the debriefing room were the furious, scowling faces of some of the galaxy's most dangerous individuals. After Garrus had torn away their small victory to reveal the dire situation, anger and outrage practically permeated the room.

"The Prothean relic only had one charge, and can do no more. Thanatos can't defeat all the reapers. So we need to find a way to trap them. To keep them away from our galaxy." He summarized.

"The old Gods have technology that far surpasses any other species. Calculations of being able to 'trap' them are extremely unlikely." Garrus stopped, and cocked an eyebrow at Legion's statement.

"Wait: 'Extremely unlikely?'" He clarified.

"Yes. But not impossible." The geth confirmed.

"Do you have any idea on how we could possibly trap the reapers?"

"We will reach a consensus in approximately one hour." Garrus sighed, surely the geth would have had a consensus on something like this earlier.

"Fuck this waiting." Jack straightened up from leaning on the table. "Do you seriously think that the reapers will politely wait while we figure out some way to trap them?"

"Well, we sure as hell have run out of ways to kill them. We need to gather the tech. We can't rush ahead blindly into something like this." Garrus cautioned.

"I will send a message to the Migrant Fleet. The quarians have quite an aptitude for tech." Tali said shamelessly.

"Will contact STG. Can devise plan. Calculate how best to neutralize reaper threat." Mordin promised, with a grim determination in his features.

"Drell have little that they can spare. But I will contact various people who have owed me a favour throughout the years, one way or the other." Thane added.

"Little I can do. But I'll dig around. See if I have any tricks up my sleeve." Kasumi shrugged.

"I'll contact the turians. See what firepower they can provide." Gavorn loaded his gun in anticipation.

"I know a few Asari Commandos." Detective Anaya shrugged. "I'll see what we can devise."

Joker's voice chimed in on the intercom. "Well, I feel a little inferior now as I live in the cockpit my entire life. But if it helps, I will fly the Normandy around especially stylishly."

Garrus looked round. "Well, it looks like you have all given yourselves your assignments." The crew began to disperse, attending their self-assigned duties. The Normandy landed by the Lazarus station. The Cerberus owned laboratory that revived Shepard in two years.

"Wait, Tali." Garrus stopped the quarian who turned round to face him. "Could you come with me to the Lazarus station? Help me take Shepard there. I still don't trust Cerberus."

"And neither do I." She agreed venomously as they took the elevator to the top floor. "But it seems like this is the only way it may be done. They seem to want Shepard, her mind. Not anything the reapers have tainted."

"I wish there was some other way." Garrus shook his head. Shepard was still unconscious on the sofa, Garrus and Tali gently lifted her and took her limp form down to the airlock. As the doors slid open, a pristinely white corridor greeted them. A doctor in the Cerberus uniform strode down to meet them. His scarred face and the submachine gun on his hip told them that this man wasn't just a doctor.

"So the boss is particularly interested in this one eh?" The doctor scratched his receding hairline, drawing to Garrus' attention that part of his ear was missing. "Not the first time we've had to work our asses off for her. Try bringing a hunk of flesh back to life. Not something I would recommend." Garrus was already starting to become annoyed with this man. And that was ignoring the Cerberus logo on his clothing.

He led them down a labyrinth of corridor, until finally bringing them to a large room with a bed, surrounded by large amounts of dubious machinery. Garrus and Tali carefully laid the sleeping Tharrissa there while the Cerberus doctor studied them.

"You really want to get her better don't you? Well, the boss and I have had a chat. And you gotta understand, he isn't just gonna undo the effects of indoctrination without a little something in return you see." He told them while wiping his hands on his apron.

"What does he want?" Garrus practically snarled.

"Well, he has seen that Shepard has a talent for doing the impossible. He thinks it is reasonable to ask for her to help Cerberus out with a few things."

"Such as?"

"Well, her resurrection was expensive. Two million credits should suffice for that. Also, if we are to remove the indoctrination from her, then the boss thinks it is only fair if Cerberus can use Shepard for a few experiments. Just a couple of tests."

Garrus was immediately glad that Jack was not present. The doctor before them would have been dead. Smashed into a wall with a biotic blast so powerful, that his internal organs would be crushed. The escaped convict would never agree to it. As a fellow biotic, Jack was only too aware of the kind of tests Cerberus ran. The turian looked over to Tali, who slowly shook her head. Cerberus was untrustworthy for a reason.

"No one is running experiments on Tharrissa's body. What tests did you have in mind?"

"Routine checks, analyses on her implants, measures of her biotic potential. Nothing that would endanger her life I assure you."

"No." Garrus said firmly, holding his gaze firmly with the Cerberus doctor's. They stayed there, with locked eyes for a few seconds, before the doctor broke into a sneer.

"I'm afraid it isn't a choice." He threatened with a smirk. Garrus was aware of a hissing sound, then he saw vents open. "The boss' idea. Gas made with levo-amino toxins. Shepard and I won't be affected. You two on the other hand."

"But-" Tali began.

"We have taken into consideration your envirosuit quarian. And trust me; we know how to deal with your kind. Don't think it will save you." The smug tone in the doctor's voice filled Tali with the visions of what Cerberus had done to her people. In a split second after feeling the nauseating effects of the poisoned gases, the quarian raised her shotgun, and fired. Spraying the doctor's brains onto the wall behind him.

Only registering a brief flicker of surprise at Tali's impulsive vengefulness, Garrus looked all around them for a way out. The vents just led to a furiously rotating fan, and the door was reinforced, steel-clad and without any means of opening it.

Tharrissa stirred. Garrus rushed over, his voice constricted by the toxic miasma that intensified in the air.

"Tharrissa, if that is you, you need to get us out of here. This gas is poisoning me and Tali. Could your biotics slam the door open?" The Commander looked at Garrus blankly for a few long seconds. Then his eyes moved down, and the turian noticed the blood trails seeping from closed fists. The woman he loved was silently fighting her own battle.

He could faintly hear Tali behind him, jabbing into her omni-tool furiously by the door and using all the hacking techniques she knew. But the hissing of the gas did not silence the harsh, ragged breathing of the engineer.

Garrus could feel his strength being siphoned from him, he now knelt by the bed, his face level with Tharrissa's.

"I will do everything in my power to stop the reapers from possessing your mind. But you have to get me and Tali out of here. Please. I don't want to lose you. Not again." The consigned sorrow in Garrus' tone triggered something in Tharrissa's mind. Her will overcame the reapers influence temporarily.

Garrus stood back as the familiar blue, swirling mist danced around Tharrissa. Narrowing her eyes at the impenetrable door, she summoned every tendril of biotic energy, and swept it into a powerful shockwave that burst apart the door, smashing it and sending it careening into the alabaster wall behind it. Shepard rose from the bed and ran from the room, accompanied by the two loyal aliens who had been to hell and back with her so many times.

Even when she felt the reapers reclaiming her mind once more. This time, she felt the tinglings of a darker, more sinister motive. She fought determinedly, but a renewed urgency wrenched her back into dark, uncertain realms of indoctrination. Garrus and Tali continued to follow Tharrissa through the pristine white corridors. But they did not see the feverish gleam in her eye and the menacing sneer on her face as the reapers within her mind led them directly into a delicately laid trap.


End file.
